Politics in the brain

I’m rather interested in politics. I know that’s a shock to folks who maybe hadn’t noticed that more of my posts are tagged “US Politics” than anything else, or that at any given time, the top five most popular posts will include many about US Politics (at the time I’m writing this, three of the five are about US politics).

Apparently, I may come by this naturally—literally.

Despite the holidays, many folks on the Internet took note of a small study in Britain that found a significant correlation between brain structure and political leanings (liberal or conservative). In this case, “significant” means it’s more than chance would suggest, but something that would require further scientific research to prove or disprove.

The study came about when the actor Colin Firth was made Guest Editor for an episode of a BBC Radio programme (as they do the last week of the year). As Firth jokingly explained, “I just decided to find out what was biologically wrong with people who don’t agree with me, and see what scientists had to say about it, and they actually came up with something.” (In case an American conservative reads this post, Firth was joking; it’s British humour).

Still, much to everyone’s surprise, researchers found structural differences in the brains of self-described liberals and conservatives: Conservatives had a more pronounced amygdala—a primitive part of the brain associated with processing emotions. Liberals, on the other (left?) hand, had thicker anterior cingulated cortex, which is associated with, among other things, decision-making and empathy.

The study was too small to be conclusive, but it complemented behavioural research done a few years ago that found the brains of liberals and conservatives work differently.

Researchers determined liberals’ brains tended to tolerate conflict and ambiguity better than conservatives’ brains. Earlier studies found that liberals were more open to new experiences, while conservatives tended to be more structured and persistent in their judgments.

So, research suggests liberals are more willing to take on new information and to change their positions as they learn more. Conservatives tend to be more single-minded, ignoring outside influences. Some of my liberal friends may see that as a bad thing, but there are times when it could be a useful trait—like trying to accomplish a specific task, for example.

It’s important to note that this is all descriptive, not predictive: Political ideology is a spectrum, so it’s inappropriate to make blanket assumptions about those generally on the left or right. Similarly, research can’t predict the position someone will take on an issue. We also don’t know why these brain differences exist.

However, all this research suggests that there are real, structural differences in the way that liberals and conservatives see the world and react to it. That could explain why they find it so hard to find a middle ground and why they tend not to get along. And if political orientation has some physical components, and it clearly does, then other things—like sexual orientation—must do, too.

So, I write so much about politics from a liberal perspective because that’s the way I’m built. Or maybe vice versa.